Big Brother
by Lady Jill Pole
Summary: What were Peter's reactions when each of his siblings was born? This tells what may have happened when Susan, Edmund, and Lucy joined the Pevensie family.
1. Susan

**Okay, so this is the first fanfic that I am posting, even though it is not the first that I have started. I wanted to write a few little stories about Peter's different reactions to all of his siblings when they were born. I made Peter about one and a half years old in this one.**

"Mum, Dad, we're home!" called the young man as he helped his wife through the front door of their snug little house and out of the snowstorm that raged outside.

"Da-da!" The sound of a little voice drifted down the hallway and the kitchen door opened at the end. An older man, about in his fifties, started down the hall toward the young couple with a big smile on his face.

"Son," he said. "It's good to see you two home safe."

Before the younger man could answer, a small, golden-haired boy toddled out of the kitchen as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him. "Da-da!" he called again, reaching his arms toward his father.

The man smiled a tired but joyful smile and scooped his son into his arms. "How's my favorite boy? Oh, I've missed you," he said as he planted a kiss on the little boy's head.

Peter responded by squirming in his father's grasp and pointing at the woman who stood behind them. "Ma-ma!" he cried.

His father winced. "Young man, please try not to scream in my ear."

Peter ignored him and continued reaching for his mother, obviously wanting to be held by her. "Ma-ma." When his father did not yield, his voice got a whiney edge to it.

"Your mum can't hold you right now. She's very tired," said his grandfather. He gently took the woman by the arm and guided her into the sitting room.

"Ma-ma!" Peter wailed and squirmed when they left, causing his father to wince again and set him down. As soon as he was free, he toddled after his mother and grandfather into the sitting room.

"Come sit with Mummy, Peter," said his mother, holding a small bundle in one arm and patting the couch cushion next to her. She helped him up and then pulled him close. He patted her belly and said,

"Baby?"

She smiled gently and shook her head. "No, Peter, the baby isn't in there anymore. Do you want to see her?"

He nodded emphatically. "Baby."

She shifted the bundle and brought it close to Peter. His eyes were wide as she pulled back a corner of the blanket and exposed the tiny, pink face of the baby. "This is your sister, Peter. You're a big brother now."

He brought his wide eyes up to his mother's face. "Sis-taw?" he repeated.

His father sat down on the couch next to Peter. "Yes. Her name is Susan."

"Su-san…"

"Where's my new grandchild?" a merry, tinkling voice filled the room as a plump, jolly woman entered.

"She's right here, Mum." answered Peter's father.

The woman rushed over to the couch and carefully took the offered baby. As she and her husband cooed over Susan, Peter's face scrunched up as his tiny eyebrows knit together. His lower lip stuck out, and he whimpered quietly. His father had risen from the couch and joined his parents, but Peter's mother, still exhausted from delivering Susan, had remained sitting. She noticed her son's face change from wonder to disappointment and softly asked, "What's wrong, darling?"

The dejected little boy turned his chubby face toward hers and sadly said, "Baby." He pointed at his father, grandparents, and sister. "Sis-taw."

His mother smiled at him. "Oh. I see. George," she said to her husband.

"Yes, dear?"

She motioned to her daughter. "Could you bring the baby over here?"

George took Susan from her grandmother's arms and handed her over to his wife. She looked at Susan's peaceful face for a moment then motioned for Peter to move closer. "Would you like to hold your sister, little one?"

"Baby!"

She giggled. "Very well."

Before she could place Susan in Peter's arms, however, her mother-in-law stopped her. "Annaleigh, are you certain that is a good idea? Peter is not even two yet."

"It'll be fine. Don't worry." She turned to George. "Could you prop up Peter's arms with that pillow?"

He obliged, carefully placing a pillow on Peter's lap and positioning his son's arms just so. Then Annaleigh, being careful not to jostle Susan, placed the baby in Peter's eager arms. His eyes grew wide again as he tightened his arms around her. With an expression of wonder on his face, he lifted one of his hands and hesitantly touched Susan's nose with a chubby finger.

"See, Mum? There's nothing to worry about." Said George.

His mother sniffled and wiped her eyes, touched by little Peter's amazement and gentleness with his new sister. "I can see that," she managed to say.

"He adores her," remarked Annaleigh, her own adoring eyes on her two children. It was true. The four adults could see it in the way Peter carefully cradled Susan in his little arms, not taking his eyes off her face. He softly traced her face with his finger; her tiny eyebrows, button nose, and puckered pink mouth. Suddenly, Susan's beautiful blue eyes opened and they met Peter's own. She immediately smiled at her big brother, dimples appearing in her soft cheeks. Peter grinned back, his own dimples appearing.

"Baby. Sis-taw." He said softly. Then, when Susan's eyes closed again, he puckered his lips and kissed her forehead, making his parents smile. George pulled Annaleigh close.

"Why don't you go rest? Mum and Dad can watch the baby for now." He said.

"I _am_ tired," Annaleigh admitted. He helped her up and they exited the room.

Peter did not even notice that his parents had left. His full attention was on Susan. He had pulled her blanket farther back from her face and discovered one of her tiny hands. He put his own little hand in hers, and to his delight, she grasped it tightly. Puckering up his mouth again, he kissed her forehead once more.

"Baby. Sis-taw." He said again, then added, "Su-san."

"Isn't he sweet?" his grandmother asked her husband in a low voice.

"Yes," he agreed, then said, "Look."

Peter had kissed Susan once more, this time on her cheek. Then, he pressed his cheek to hers, closing his eyes. As he drifted off to sleep, he whispered,

"Sis-taw. Love Su-san."

**Okay, that is it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, what did you like about it? If not, what did you _not_ like about it? Please leave a review and tell me! Constructive criticism is welcome. Oh, and please note that I changed Mrs. Pevensie's name on purpose. Mr. and Mrs. Pevensie's names are not mentioned in the books, but in the movie she was given the name 'Helen'. I changed it to Annaleigh because I did not want her to have the same name as the first queen of Narnia. Anyway, thanks for reading this! - Lady Jill Pole**


	2. Edmund

**Okay, so here's the second chapter. I want to thank all of the people who reviewed the first...I totally did not expect to get so many reviews! It meant so much to me to find all of those encouraging comments in my inbox! I was nearly giddy with happiness...I couldn't keep the smile off my face. I hope you like this chapter as much as the first.**

Peter sat in the window seat of the sunroom, his arms tightly crossed. His little eyebrows were scrunched together and his lower lip protruded from his frowning mouth. He gripped a worn, faded blanket in one fist, crinkling the fabric as he clenched and unclenched his hands. In stark contrast to the brightly shining sun that could be seen outside the window, his stormy visage dared anyone to come near.

Oblivious to her older brother's foul mood, Susan sat on the floor at the other side of the room, playing with a stuffed dog while prattling on and on in her sweet little voice about their new baby brother. Edmund, sleeping soundly, lay three feet away from her in a padded wicker basket. He made an adorable image, wrapped tightly in a soft blanket and sucking on his tiny fist as he slept. Unfortunately, the baby boy was the reason that Peter sat pouting all by himself on the window seat.

However, being an active four-and-a-half-year-old, Peter could only sit in one spot for so long, no matter how annoyed he was by his baby brother. So after he had been pouting for about half an hour, he slid off his perch and moved over to sit in between Edmund's basket and Susan. Not bothering to stop scowling, he watched Edmund sleep.

"He doesn't do anything but sleep and cry," Peter complained, finally speaking.

"Isn't he adowable?" asked Susan, putting her toy down and scooting over to the basket.

"You don't even know what that means," said Peter.

"You don't either," she shot back. "Anyway, that's what Mummy calls Baby Eddy. And if Mummy calls him that, there's nothing wrong with me saying it."

Susan proceeded to tell Peter all the things she loved about "Baby Eddy": his soft, dark hair, his tiny hands and feet, his big bluish-grey eyes, his baby smell, and countless other things. This only made Peter more upset.

Before and even right after Edmund had been born, Peter had been very excited about getting a new baby brother. He could not wait to see and play with Edmund. When George and Annaleigh had brought Edmund home, Peter at first would not leave his side. He had held Edmund at every opportunity and talked to him, telling him all about Susan, their parents, and anything else that popped into his mind. But things eventually changed. Peter started to notice that Edmund was usually the center of attention, even in the middle of the night. He did not mind sharing his parents, but Susan spent as much time with Edmund as Peter had in the beginning, and as a result, Peter did not get to play with her as much as he used to. Whenever he was able to convince her to play with him, she, more often than not, wanted to have Edmund in the same room. Peter might have been alright with that arrangement if Susan had stopped there, but she would interrupt their play time every once in a while to go over and gaze at Edmund while he slept, and when she was not doing that, she would talk about him almost constantly. Peter felt as though he was losing his best friend to the infant boy.

Susan, still talking to Peter about Edmund, moved away from her brothers for a moment to get her stuffed dog and a couple of other toys. And in the span of the moment that her back was turned, Peter felt a sudden urge come over him and acted on it without thinking.

A minute later, Annaleigh Pevensie rushed into the room to find her three-year-old daughter in tears, her infant son wailing, and her oldest child standing with a guilt-ridden expression on his face. She followed his gaze to where Edmund lay. Edmund's formerly snug blanket was now in disarray and his tiny limbs waved frantically in the air, punctuating his loud screams. One of his feet looked suspiciously red.

When she had taken in this pitiful scene, Annaleigh addressed Peter. "What happened?" she asked.

The little boy hung his head and muttered something like, "I bt tis dohsh,"

"I'm sorry, Peter, but you are going to need to speak more clearly. I can't understand you." His mother said somewhat sternly.

He lifted his head and his deep blue eyes met her chocolate brown ones. Still quietly, but much more clearly, he spoke again. "I bit his toes."

Annaleigh's mouth dropped open as a shocked expression crossed her face and she stared at her oldest son for a moment, at a loss for words. Then, she knelt down next to Edmund's basket and lifted him from it. When his wails quieted to whimpers, she took his reddened foot in her hand and inspected it. Sure enough, Peter had spoken the truth. Little tooth marks decorated Edmund's tiny toes. Thankfully, the bite had not been hard enough to draw blood, but Annaleigh could tell that it was already starting to bruise. She sighed and wrapped Edmund's blanket tightly about him and laid him back in his basket. He had already drifted back to sleep, comforted by his mother's warm touch and secure embrace.

With Edmund now asleep, Annaleigh hushed Susan, telling her that Edmund would be fine. When Susan's tears subsided, Annaleigh settled the little girl in a rocking chair and handed her the stuffed dog. Susan hugged the toy tightly and glared at Peter from behind her dark curls, which had fallen in her face. He looked away from her and stared intently at the floor.

"Come, Peter," Annaleigh said, and reached for his hand. She led him out of the sunroom and down the hall to his bedroom. Once there, she lifted him up and set him on his bed. "Why did you bite your brother's toes?" she asked, holding his little hands firmly in hers and intently studying his face.

Peter's eyes roamed the room, looking anywhere but at his mother. "I don't know," he answered.

Annaleigh could tell by his tone that he did indeed know. "I think you do. Look at me and tell me."

Peter finally met Annaleigh's stern gaze. After a moment of silence he spoke. "Susan likes him better than me." Tears gathered in his eyes.

"Oh, Peter." Annaleigh said with a sigh. She pulled her son into a tight embrace. "Susan doesn't like Edmund any better than you. You're her big brother."

"If she doesn't like him better, why does she spend so much time with him?"

"Peter, Susan is excited that she has another brother and that she is a big sister. Of course she's going to spend time with Edmund. You were the same way at first with Edmund, and, if possible, even more fascinated with Susan when she was born."

"I don't remember that,"

"Of course you don't. You weren't even two yet. Now," she said, changing the subject. "I've come up with a suitable punishment for you. You are going to bed early tonight, and there will be no dessert after supper. I understand why you bit Edmund, but there is still no excuse for it."

Peter nodded, his eyes downcast. Neither of them spoke for a minute and Peter seemed to be in deep thought. Then his eyebrows knit together in a scowl and he said, "This is all Susan's fault. If she didn't pay attention to Edmund everything would be fine."

Annaleigh raised an eyebrow. "If Susan is the problem, why didn't you bite _her_ toes?"

Peter stared at her, an appalled expression on his face. "I would never do that! It would hurt her! And besides, she doesn't do it on purpose."

"Edmund is not taking your sister's attention away from you on purpose, either." Annaleigh said, recognizing a chance to reconcile the infant in his older brother's eyes.

Peter had not thought of it that way. Edmund was a baby, and babies can't do much. (Peter had learned this the hard way when he had tried to play ball with the newborn during Edmund's first week home. The result had been a screaming baby with a nasty bump on his head.) Therefore, it would be impossible for Edmund to be plotting to take Susan away from Peter. A sorrowful expression crossed his face as he realized that he had hurt his innocent baby brother that had not meant him any harm.

"I'm sorry, Mummy," he said in a small voice, a couple of tears welling up in his eyes.

Annaleigh, sure that his apology was sincere, said, "I accept your apology for Edmund, but there's someone else you need to apologize to as well."

"Susan?"

"Yes." Annaleigh hesitated. "Do you know _what_ you need to apologize for?"

"Yes," Peter answered.

"Alright. You may talk with her after dinner."

George Pevensie was a very confused man that night. Everything had seemed fine when he had walked in the door; Susan had come running as usual with her customary hug and cry of "Daddy's home!", and the smell of dinner cooking had been wafting through the house. But everything was different at the dinner table. Peter was strangely silent, and Susan, well, suffice it to say that she was not the normal cheerful, bubbly three-year-old that her father was used to. When he shot a questioning glance towards his wife, she shook her head, mouthing, _"Don't ask. I'll tell you later."_ Satisfied, George shrugged and turned his attention away from his children's moody behavior and back to his half-eaten plate of food.

When they finished eating, Annaleigh stood and began clearing the table. George moved to help her, but she waved him off, telling him to relax. Susan, on completing her dessert, had immediately left the kitchen to play in the sunroom, where Edmund slept soundly. Peter had remained in his seat, but his eyes had followed her as she left the room. Annaleigh observed this, and she lightly touched his arm. He looked up at her, and she nodded in answer to the question in his eyes. He slid off his chair and with no delay made a beeline for the sunroom.

Susan glanced up when he entered, but pointedly looked away when she saw who he was. Peter felt slightly disappointed at this, but it did not deter him from his goal. He crossed the room, his feet softly padding on the carpet, and came to stand right in front of Susan. She still tried to ignore him, but found it exceedingly more difficult as he sat down and began to absentmindedly fiddle with one of her stuffed animals. Finally, Peter spoke in a small voice.

"I'm sorry, Susy."

She did not respond for a moment, and her hands paused from brushing the hair of the doll she held. Then, she mournfully asked, "Why, Petey? Why did you bite Baby Eddy?"

Peter saw tears glistening in her eyes, and his heart sank. He always hated it when his little sister cried. "I did it 'cause I was mad," he answered. "I thought he was taking you away from me. I thought you loved him more than me." He moved across the short space between them to sit next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please don't cry, Susy, I hate it when you cry."

Susan threw her arms around her big brother. "You're silly. I don't love him more than you."

Peter returned the embrace gladly. "Do you forgive me?"

"Yes," came the answer, and then Susan pulled away. With a fierce expression on her face, she vehemently said, "But if you ever bite Baby Eddy again, I'll bite _you_!"

Peter gulped. He was not accustomed to Susan being so forceful with her words, but he did not doubt them. He merely nodded in answer to her statement.

Susan noticed his reaction and giggled. "Don't worry, all you have to do is not bite Baby Eddy." She hugged him tightly. "I love you, Petey."

"I love you too, Susy," Peter responded. He glanced over Susan's head toward where Edmund lay in his basket. "And I think I love Edmund now, too."

Annaleigh Pevensie smiled from her place in the doorway as she observed her two oldest children move over to their baby brother and watch him while he slept. Then, she covered her mouth with one hand to mask a gasp, while her eyes filled with joyful tears. For Peter had leaned over the baby basket…and planted a kiss on Edmund's little forehead.

"I'm sorry I bit you, Edmund." He whispered softly. "I love you."

**Something about this chapter that worried me: I'm not sure that Peter and Susan should be talking so well at the ages at which I tried to portray them. What do you think? I think Peter is okay, but Susan...well, the problem is that the little girl after whom I tried to model her talks a lot, but you can only understand her like 25 to 40 percent of the time! Oh well, I did my best. It's very hard to write a person when you're not exactly sure how well they should talk. Anyway, once again, I'd like to know what you think, and constructive critisism is still welcome. Please review! -Lady Jill Pole**


	3. Lucy

**Well, it took a couple months, but I've finally finished this. I had major problems writing this chapter: procrastination, writer's block, and a false start plagued me. And then, when it finally took off on its own, I didn't have internet for several days. I probably would have posted this sooner if that hadn't happened. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this final chapter of _Big Brother_!**

* * *

As befit her personality, Lucy was born in the spring. The sun was shining brightly and the first of the year's flowers were in bloom the day she came into the world.

Peter and Susan were beside themselves with excitement the day she came home. While they were waiting for their parents to arrive with Lucy, Susan carefully brought all of her favorite dolls and stuffed animals into the living room and arranged them on the sofa and floor to show her new sister. Peter, on the other hand, could not stay occupied with any activity that his grandparents set before him and was constantly running back and forth from the living room to the kitchen, with several variations of one question on his tongue: "Are they home yet? When will they get home? Are they almost home now?" Soon, the part of the living room floor that was not occupied by Susan's dolls and stuffed animals was littered with open picture books, several unfinished drawings, two half-done block towers, and various toy cars. There was even a tangle of uncooked macaroni noodles and red yarn spider-webbing over George Pevensie's chair by the fireplace.

Finally, Peter's grandparents became tired of his behavior when he bowled Edmund over during one high speed run into the kitchen, nearly knocking his toddling brother against the hot stove. Peter was scooped up by his grandfather, carried into the living room, and plopped into one of two wooden chairs by a small table. His grandfather then pulled a puzzle off a nearby shelf and proceeded to scatter the pieces across the table. Peter's attention was instantly caught; puzzles were something special that he did only with his grandfather. He grinned and began helping his grandfather flip the colorful puzzle pieces so that they all faced up.

However, after about ten minutes of putting the puzzle together, the sound of the front door opening echoed through the house. Peter's hand froze in mid-air where it was about to fit a piece into the puzzle, and Susan's breath caught in her throat. Their grandfather watched in amusement as the siblings' heads slowly swiveled towards each other and they shared a look of wide-eyed excitement. For a moment, the room was completely silent, except for the sound of the ticking grandfather clock in the corner. But it was a short moment, for as soon as the cry of "We're home!" rang out, the room erupted into a flurry of movement and sound.

Susan squealed and rushed for the living room door while Peter jumped down from his chair, knocking it over and sweeping half of the puzzle pieces off the table in the process. The two children made a beeline for their parents and Lucy. George picked Susan up and swung her around in the air while Peter wrapped his arms around Annaleigh's waist.

"Hello, darling," Annaleigh said softly, smiling gently down at Peter.

Peter smiled brightly back to her, but he was soon distracted by the small wiggling bundle in Annaleigh's arms. He withdrew his arms from around her waist but kept his eyes on Lucy as Susan ran at their mother and hugged her legs tightly.

Susan also stared at Lucy when she backed away from Annaleigh, and soon her curiosity got the better of her. In the midst of the greetings that the grownups exchanged, Susan lifted up her voice loudly.

"Is that _her_?" She questioned her mother, a chubby finger pointing at the baby in question.

This struck her parents and grandparents as funny, so the room erupted in laughter. Annaleigh, struggling to keep hers in and not succeeding very well, said between giggles, "Yes, dear, this is Lucy."

Arms now crossed and an indignant 'how dare you laugh at me' look on her face, Susan spoke again. "I want to hold her."

Annaleigh nodded her assent as the other adults got their laughter under control, and the group moved to the living room. She raised an eyebrow as she surveyed the mess that encompassed the room and looked at her father-in-law for explanation. He mouthed one word, "_Peter_", and the light of understanding came into her eyes. Mouth twitching and eyes twinkling, Annaleigh helped Susan get situated on the couch with Lucy while Peter hovered close by.

George stared at the tangle of yarn and noodles covering his chair, squinting and tilting his head, unsure what to make of it. Finally, he shrugged and sat down in the middle of it, directing a question to Susan as he did so. "What do you think of your new sister?"

Susan seemed enraptured by Lucy. "She's adorable," She answered, using the same word she had used for Edmund over a year ago. Then she looked up, a puzzled expression on her face. "But why is she so bald?"

This earned another round of chuckles from the grandparents and a loud guffaw from George.

"Oh, the honesty of children," said Annaleigh, smiling widely as she removed Lucy from Susan's arms. Susan slid off the couch with a pout on her face, annoyed that the adults kept laughing at the questions she asked.

Peter eagerly took Susan's place on the couch and reached out his arms for Lucy. Annaleigh carefully transferred Lucy from her arms to his, and Peter was finally holding his youngest sibling for the first time. As soon as Peter tightened his embrace around her, Lucy's eyes flew open and Grandmother Pevensie gasped.

"She has the bluest eyes I have ever seen!" she exclaimed.

"Yes," Annaleigh said fondly. "I believe they're even brighter than Peter's were at her age."

Grandmother Pevensie leaned closer to Lucy, intently studying her face. "Do you think she'll keep them?"

Peter looked up at his grandmother. "I hope she does," he said.

As his mother and grandmother glanced at each other and shared a smile, Peter looked back down at Lucy. He began tracing her face, much like he had with Susan about four years back. He smiled as he felt the top of her head. Susan had been wrong, he discovered. Lucy was not bald; she had soft, downy, light blonde fuzz covering her head.

Lucy was still awake, but her eyes were starting to slowly blink and stay closed longer and longer. Finally, when they blinked shut and stayed that way, Peter kissed his sleeping sister's button nose and said, "Welcome to our family, Lucy."

* * *

Peter quickly slipped into the role of the protective and loving big brother to his new sister. Not to say that he wasn't already that way with Edmund and Susan, but he kicked it up a notch with Lucy. There was something about her that made him feel as though they had a special connection.

Edmund, on the other hand, seemed to be experiencing some of the jealousy that sometimes arises among young children when their parents bring a new sibling home. Whenever Annaleigh held Lucy and Edmund caught sight of her, the one-year-old would toddle over as fast as he could to his mother and reach up to be held. If Annaleigh happened to be sitting at the time, Edmund would attempt to crawl up onto her lap, and, if he succeeded, would snuggle close to her and stare at Lucy with an almost triumphant expression on his face. If, however, he didn't succeed in climbing up onto Annaleigh's lap, he would flop on the floor and start whimpering. Sometimes, he turned it into a full-fledged temper-tantrum and if it got bad enough, Annaleigh had to set Lucy down and carry Edmund from the room. Peter was always close by whenever this happened, and, more often than not, was able to hold Lucy whenever Edmund had a jealousy-prompted hissy fit. However, a couple of times Annaleigh could have sworn Peter did something to Edmund to work him up more and prompt him to scream louder.

"It's as though Peter can't get enough time with Lucy," Annaleigh remarked to her mother-in-law one night when the two grandparents were visiting. "When Susan was a baby, he loved being around her, but he was just a little child himself, so there was none of this obsessive behavior."

Grandmother Pevensie smiled. "I suppose it runs in the family. It's been a long time since you were Peter's age, but I can remember visiting your mother when you were little and seeing you behave in quite the same way when Harold was born."

Annaleigh opened her mouth and began to respond, but was interrupted by Peter and Susan racing into the room.

"Look, Mummy! Look, look!" squealed Susan. She shoved a pink stuffed bunny half as big as she was into Annaleigh's lap. "Grandfather gave it to me!"

Peter plopped down on the floor next to where Lucy lay on a blanket and began dumping out the contents of a medium sized box in front of him. "Grandfather gave me soldiers." His eyes lit on one of the small figures in front of him and he set it aside, separate from the rest. "And a _princess_," he added in slight disgust.

Grandmother Pevensie and Annaleigh squinted at the figurine. Sure enough, with its rosy cheeks and lips, elaborate hairstyle, tiara, and long flowing gown, it couldn't be taken for anything other than a princess.

"That must have been put in the box by accident," remarked Grandmother Pevensie.

"But Peter, dear," said Annaleigh. "Don't the soldiers need someone to protect?"

Peter's busy hands stilled for a moment, and his eyes shifted from the two toy soldiers grasped in his fingers to the toy princess that lay alone on the floor. He shrugged and said, "I suppose." He dropped one of the soldiers he held and set the princess upright on Lucy's blanket, then proceeded to designate half of the soldiers as "bad" soldiers while he arranged the rest around the princess. He was well into his new game when one of Lucy's hands waved through the air and knocked half the soldiers over. No sooner had he set them up again than Lucy's hand once again swept through the air and, this time, alighted on the princess. Lucy grasped the toy and waved it around before bringing it to her mouth and sucking on the princess' frilly gown.

Peter sputtered for a moment, annoyed that his game had been interrupted once more, and reached for the princess, pulling it from Lucy's firm grasp. Then, he paused, his gaze moving back and forth between Lucy and the toy princess. Annaleigh had been watching from across the room as the scene unfolded, and she hid a smile as Peter handed the princess back to Lucy.

"You keep her," he said as his sister pulled the toy close. "She looks a bit like you, anyway." He smiled at Lucy as she gurgled and kicked her little feet, then he returned to playing with the toy soldiers.

"Come on, men!" he exclaimed, giving voice to one of the toys as he arranged them on the blanket around his baby sister. "We must protect the princess at all costs!" Peter grabbed one of Lucy's chubby fists, the one tightly clutching the princess doll, and kissed it tenderly. "Princess Lucy." And with that, he began a mission; one that would span lifetimes and worlds…a mission to protect the princess, the future Queen.

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**Wow, I can't believe it's done. :( I'm going to miss this story, but I'm considering writing more about the young Pevensies...what do my readers think? Should I? You can tell me...in a REVIEW! :) I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed this story for me. Your kind comments were so encouraging and brought many smiles to my face.**

**And as to reviewing this chapter...I have several reasons why you should. 1. As I said earlier, reviews are encouraging, 2. They can help an author improve certain areas of his/her writing, and 3. Tomorrow's my birthday! So you can consider your review as your own, personal birthday gift to me! Okay, I know that isn't really a good reason to review, but I just had to put that in there. :) And don't ask how old I'll be; I probably won't tell you. Besides, it's rude to ask a Lady her age! :)**

**Anyway, thanks for reading my story! May Aslan bless you all! -Lady Jill Pole**


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